[1st/1st] Week 300: Round Four: Maruyama Ilsa vs Rina

[Nekomata]

Desert. Why did it have to be desert? And not just any desert, oh no. Ilsa slogged her way to the top of an enormous sand dune, shading her eyes with one hand as she searched for any sign of her opponent. The tournament organizers just had to pick the deep Sahara for the desert arena, as opposed to something like the Sonora or Gobi that had hard earth and rock to walk and fight on. Supposedly there was an oasis somewhere in here, but there was no sign of water from where Ilsa stood.

No sign of anything but sand, really. No plants, no animals, not even any rocks. Just sand, sun, and sky, as far as the eye could see. Mid-morning sun beat down on her like a hammer, hot as Seireitei at noon in late summer. If it was this hot already, Ilsa didn’t want to think about what it would be like in a few hours. The muscular blonde grimaced, fighting the urge to take off her socks and sandals and shake them out. It would be a pointless exercise on a sand dune. The white jinbaori that marked her status as an officer of the First was back in Seireitei, as two layers of clothing were more than enough in this heat. So was her customary beaded jewelry; if she lost it here, there would be no getting it back. The only difference between Ilsa’s current garb and that of any other shinigami was the white band on her left arm with its plaque displaying the number one.

Ugh, where is she? There wasn’t even anywhere to sit down that wouldn’t get massive amounts of sand in her clothes. The vice-captain sighed, flipping her thick white-blonde braid over her shoulder. She looked- and felt- massively out of place here. With her light coloring and tall, heavily muscled frame, her coworkers liked to call her ‘Valkyrie’. And Valkyries had no business fighting in the Sahara.

Except for those with more pride than sense.

337/337​

Stats and points

She lives! Will has decided to equalize Rina, and obviously I rolled Biodome: Desert.

Points: 1250
- 200 Potion
+ 200 Equalizer
+ 100 Shield Break (Defences halved, barriers block only half of the cost in damage)

Reiatsu values in parentheses are the current values after Round Two and regeneration.

Reiatsu: 26,670 (24,829)
~ Hinometori ~ 32,004 (29,795) ~
~ Amenokaigan no Hinometori ~ 37,338 (34,761) ~
Zanjutsu: 8,000
Hakuda: 200
Hohou: 5,000
Kidou: 13,470 (Threshold 20,205, 38 slots)

Hitotsu: Shouaku - Bakudou #1 (#15), 50 Kidou
Futatsu: Hainawa - Bakudou #1 (#4), 20 Kidou
Mitsu: Star Shriek Blast - Hadou #1 (#18), 48 Kidou

-Byakurai - Hadou #1 (#4), 25 Kidou
-Mage Eye - Bakudou #1 (#5), 35 Kidou
-Material Summon - Bakudou #1 (#22), 200 Kidou
-Bansoukou - Bakudou #1 (#24), 150 Kidou
-Banshisei - Hadou #2 (#28), 500 Kidou + 500 Ruzai
-Aisu - Hadou #9 (#35), 350 Kidou + 350 Aisu Wave
-Yusuru -Bakudou #10 (#36), 450 Kidou
-Daishou - Hadou #12 (#38), 460 Kidou
-Enkosen - Bakudou #13 (#39), 475 Kidou
-Aquatic Cell - Bakudou #17 (#43), 600 Kidou + 300 Aquatic Coffin
-Gorogoro - Bakudou #22 (#48), 800 Kidou
-Control Doll - Bakudou #23 (#49), 600 Kidou + cost of Bakudou used
-Keshisaru - Hadou #27 (#51), 1000 Kidou + 1500 Fuki Kesu
-Black Tide - Bakudou #28 (#54), 775 Kidou
-Hyouheki - Hadou #29 (#55), 1150 Kidou
--Tenran - Hadou #32 (#58), 1300 Kidou
--Saju Sabaku - Bakudou #37 (#63), 1200 Kidou
--Raikouhou - Hadou #37 (#63), 1500 Kidou
--Radiant Run - Bakudou #39 (#65), 1350 Kidou
--Souren Soukatsui - Hadou #47 (#73), 1500 Kidou
--Gravity Ring - Bakudou #48 (#74), 2400 Kidou
--Kyoumon - Bakudou #50 (#76), 3400 Kidou
---Takitsuse - Hadou #52 (#78), 3600 Kidou
---Kuyou Shibari - Bakudou #53 (#79), 3000 Kidou
---Grand Cross - Hadou #63 (#89), 5800 Kidou


Kan: 5,690
Items:
-First Division Item Pack
-Washi no Reimotsu
Feats:
-Jumon Fudou
-Henshou
-Shouaku Jukutatsu
-Togishi (Togitate learned)
-Valkyrie's Light (PM)
-Kuiki Rouka (PM)
Kan Stuff:
-Rank A memory chikan
-Kaneshiro gikongan
-SWA Sayis figurine
-SWA Lilith figurine
-SWA Raifuku figurine

 

[swaswj]

A brief, high-pitched shriek announced Rina's arrival as she slipped near the top of another nearby dune. The petite young woman slid halfway down the sandy pile before managing to get her feet back under her. The teen grimaced and patted away the clinging, burning sand and then waved sheepishly at her opponent without saying a word. Now with better footing, Rina hopped forward and angled her boots to slide the rest of the way down the dune, ending up at the bottom of the one Ilsa perched atop.

The girl was wearing short, brown cargo shorts and, despite the heat, a stark white hoodie with orange trim. The hood was drawn up, casting her face in... modest shadow. With the sun blasting them from above and reflecting off the sands below, the hood offered little practical concealment. Seeming to realize it, or simply getting overwhelmed by the heat, Rina reached up and tore back the hood. The teen had curly green hair, longer on her left side where it reached to her modest chest. Her eyes were a matching, bright green. One bright green curl of hood-hair stuck up in the back, wiggling with every movement.

The white hoodie was unzipped, revealing a navy blue tank-top and her exposed belly-button. Rina smiled and wagged her fingers at the golden valkyrie above. She reached down to the solid silver crucifix attached to her zipper, pulling it free with a click and clutching it tightly.

With her free hand, still smiling, Rina pointed her finger at Ilsa like a gun and made a 'bang, bang,' motion.

[266/266]

Stats

Status: +200 Equalizer
Status: +0 [Disarm] Unable to use Unique Items
Status: +100 [Shield Break] Defences halved (barriers block only half of the cost in damage)

Ekaterina Walter - Erdeschalk Family

Reiatsu: 26,670
Shuuhaku: 5,334
Kyuuzu: 3,810
Namazan: 15,240
Douryuu: 7,620

Items:
Gintou (5)

 

[Nekomata]

Ilsa nodded to her opponent, mentally reminding herself to keep things civil. She had watched the previous match in Sala de Uyuni; there was no mistaking those glowing bolts for anything other than Quincy arrows. Under other circumstances, the shinigami would gladly skewer the other woman. But this was a tournament, and Ilsa would be damned if she was the one to kill an opponent and make the entire Gotei look bad. Hinometori... help me out if it looks like I’m starting to lose control, will you?

Always, Ilsa.

Time to get started, then. Rina wasn’t dressed for the heat any more than Ilsa was. Hmm... perhaps Ilsa could do a little something about the terrain if the human agreed. “I am told that there is an oasis somewhere near. If you agree, I can use one of my abilities to search for it. I would much rather fight where there is at least some vegetation to hold the sand together and provide better footing.” The shinigami repeated herself in English and Swedish, the two other languages she knew that she knew. Given the fact that both of those carried over from her previous life, there might be others still in her head.

203/540​

 

[swaswj]

Rina cocked her head to one side, but seemed to recognize that Ilsa was speaking in multiple languages. "Err.. Sie sprechen Deutsch, vielleicht?" she called up, a hopeful edge to her voice. She looked around, kicking the sand lightly. Then she kicked the air above the sand in a few different places. A bright smile spread on her lips and she tapped her foot against that spot a few more times.

Suddenly, the green-haired girl shot forward, sliding smoothly up the side of the sand dune in a burst of speed. Near the top of the dune, Rina hopped off of the arc of reiryoku, landing in the sand and sliding another foot or so before coming to a halt, throwing both arms to the side for balance. "Tada!"

She was still a short distance from Ilsa, with no weapon drawn. Holding up her empty hands to ward off any alarm at the sudden approach, the girl laughed sheepishly. "Ähm, 'Rina.'" The girl tapped her chest a few times. "Mein Name ist Rina." Then she gestured toward Ilsa, twirling her hand as if to indicate it was now her turn to introduce herself.

The little silver cross in her other hand twinkled in the sunlight.

[205/471]

Note

I swear I wrote this turn yesterday afternoon, but apparently there was an error when I posted and I didn't realize. Had to rewrite it after I realized.

Sorry for the delay. I'm going to make sure to do at least one turn a day now.

 

[Nekomata]

Ilsa blinked, startled. She didn’t remember ever hearing anyone speak German, but apparently she learned this one in life as well- Rina’s words were as clear to her as they would be if she had spoken English. Not as clear as Japanese or Swedish (which Ilsa suspected was her native tongue as a human), but quite understandable nonetheless. “Huh, how about that. Evidently I do speak German,” she replied in that tongue. “And before you say anything, memories from one’s previous life can get... misplaced during the transition. Sometimes one needs a reminder, as it were.” It was bad enough that she had to fight an enemy and make it civil. The last thing she wanted was to look stupid doing it.

“Anyway, what I was asking you was whether you’d rather find the oasis before we begin and fight where there’s a bit of vegetation to hold the sand in place.” The shinigami wiped her brow with a sleeve, mentally cursing the sun. “Aerial surveillance is one of my abilities, and these arenas do have size limits. I’m pretty sure I can find it before we melt out here.”

There was something else... oh yeah. Wonder why she didn’t look her potential opponents up on the lists and watch their matches? I certainly did. “And the name’s Maruyama Ilsa- er, Ilsa Maruyama in this language.” Her rank wouldn’t mean anything to most humans. “Nice to meet you.” It wasn’t, but Ilsa was going to be polite if it killed her.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

255/795​

She knows German?

Poor Rina deserves at least one opponent she can talk to! Sweden is right across the Baltic Sea from Germany (look at a map sometime and you'll see what I mean), so I figure it's not much of a stretch for a Swede to know German. Or ex-Swede, as the case may be.

Will, if you want to write Ilsa releasing Hinometori and finding the oasis with Washi no Ome to speed things up, go ahead. If not, that's fine too.

 

[swaswj]

Having a shinigami speak German was... decidedly less exciting than when Elena had done the same. In fact, it sent a shudder of worry through the girl. She managed to keep a weak smile up, waggling her fingers at the introduction.

Rina put a hand up to shade her eyes and did a slow circle, looking around at the seemingly endless sands. There was nothing out there to even suggest there might be anything besides the endlessly shifting dunes. Uncertainly, she shrugged and nodded to Ilsa.

The teen sucked in a surprised breath when the valkyrie released her zanpakuto, hopping a few extra steps back. Although startled, Rina calmed as she looked at the glittering crystal glaive, grinning at the elegant and beautiful weapon. Straightening up, Rina looked around again, wondering if there was anything to find and still mildly concerned that she might be getting led into a trap.

When Ilsa moved, though, Rina followed after, maintaining a safe, neutral distance. After a few moments, she also moved further to the side, hoping this would lessen the impression that she would shoot Ilsa in the back. It also, coincidentally, let her better see where they were going. The ripples and valleys of burning white sand passed all around them in silence, sun beating down on them. Sweat rolled from Rina's skin, precious moisture soon to evaporate. Her feet rarely touched the sand, though: she almost appeared to be skating, riding the flows of reishi just above the sand.

Even the wind was no comfort, hot and dry and often carrying stinging sand. Rina hoped that Ilsa actually could find an oasis, because even the short time they had both been out here had been miserable. "Ist es viel weiter?" she called out, her hoodie rippling in the rush of hot air. Almost as soon as she asked, though, they crested yet another tall dune and there was a speck off in the distance. It was just a speck, but it was a speck that was darker than the bone-dry sand in every direction.

Grinning, Rina didn't wait for a response. She let out an excited whoop and rushed on ahead. Sliding around the next dune, then zooming up over a series of smaller hillocks, her excitement grew as the speck grew larger. It was now green, definitely. Then she could make out the tops of palm trees. The speck had become a line.

As she rushed closer, it became apparent that the oasis was long, not a simple circular pool with two trees standing guard. The pool of water stretched and bent like a faux river, one that only stretched for a couple hundred meters before abruptly halting. The water was bright blue in places, and a dazzling emerald in others. Date palm trees surrounded the waterline along with patches of thick, rough grass. They wouldn't provide as much shade as Rina had been hoping, but some might be better than none.

Rina angled in, leaping over the last swell of sand. She passed into the shade -- definitely not much help! -- and went straight for the water. The girl dropped to her stomach at the edge of the water and splashed her head in, savoring the cooling relief from the sun's harsh rays. She held her head underwater for a bit longer before bursting upward. Grinning, Rina pushed herself back up to her feet and moved to lean against the rough bark of one of the palms as she waited.

Despite being thirsty, she didn't drink any of the water.

[593/1064]

Note

I meant to mention this sooner, but if Ilsa watched her previous fights, she'd know that Rina hasn't fired a single shot in the tournament, yet. Even assuming the Salt Flats fight went on longer than it did, she likely wouldn't have fired a shot. There's reasons.

 

[Nekomata]

Finally! Ilsa breathed a sigh of relief as her sandals found purchase on the grass and the rootmats below. It was way too hot to run as Rina did (curse the Gotei’s heavy black uniforms!), but the shinigami made her way over to the pool at a fast walk and splashed in, zanpakutou and all. “Ahh!” Sand would stick to her and chafe even worse than it was already doing once she got out, but Ilsa couldn’t make herself care at the moment. She bent over to duck her head- it was a bit too shallow for her to submerge all the way- and came up with a satisfied smile.

“Okay, enough playing around. The sooner we get done, the sooner we get out of the sun.” The tall blonde stretched, then waded back out onto the grass. Picking a good spot with more or less stable footing, Ilsa settled into one of her favorite battle stances, Hinometori in one hand with the shaft braced along the underside of her arm and blade pointed down. “Tenrai Chikaku.”

The veil of normality lifted from her senses as gray eyes turned to faceted orbs of crystal, showing her the world in glorious clarity. Ilsa could hear Rina’s breathing, the way blades of grass and grains of sand moved in the wind; she saw the smallest of ripples in the water, the minute shifting of stance and muscles in her opponent’s bare legs, smelled sand and hot grass and the faint remnants of the soap Rina had used earlier that day.

She also felt the tiny bits of sand in her clothes and the inevitable beginnings of a sunburn that she hadn’t noticed until now. Tenrai Chikaku was always a mixed blessing that way. Suppressing a grimace, Ilsa dulled her sense of touch to something more normal as she waited for her opponent to make a move.

314/1109​

 

[swaswj]

Rina stepped away from the tree, boots crunching in the scrub grass as she stepped over to a slightly clearer spot. She took a deep breath, holding tightly to the crucifix in her hand. Pausing to look at it and rub her thumb over the plain but solid and reliable metal, Rina looked up and met Ilsa's gaze. She lifted her left arm, holding the cross up in front of herself.

There, she paused, uncertain. Cocking her head to one side, Rina asked, "Haben Sie ... jemals getötet Quincy vor?"

How Ilsa answered... might very well decide the outcome of the match.

[101/1165]

Note

"Have you... ever killed a Quincy before?"

 

[Nekomata]

Ilsa flinched. The vice-captain of the First Division was good at many things, but hiding her feelings was not one of them. Memories rose unbidden at the young Quincy’s question. Fear and smoke and the trash of a nameless Tokyo alleyway, blinding rage as treacherous soul-killing arrows cut down the men and women under her command, the dark satisfaction of her enemy forcibly impaled on her glaive and soaking her to the skin in his blood. It was that night when she realized just how potent her anger could be as a shinigami, and just how difficult it was to control.

It was useless to lie here. She knew just how bad she was at lying, especially with strong emotion involved. “And if I have? He attacked my people out of nowhere, destroyed their souls; tried to do the same to me. His soul, on the other hand, survives.” Ilsa’s grip tightened on her zanpakutou. “I will not kill you in this tournament, Rina. This is not the place for it.”

171/1280​

 

[swaswj]

The teen's face contorted, torn between sorrow and anger, her eyes watering almost immediately. Rhetorically, she spat out, "Genau das, was ist der richtige Ort für Mord?" A speck of light began to glow in the center of her silver crucifix. It grew brighter, stronger, and then it burst outward. Even in the bright light of the desert, the bow glowed powerfully. Bright, warm pink, Rina's shortbow was in an elongated double-helix shape, with her hand gripping the center where the two halves joined together. In between where the main branches of the shaft spread apart, dozens of thin, glowing wires connected them.

Rina's fingers trembled as she reached forward, hooking her fingertips around the intangible string of her Zenkai Hamayumi. Her muscles tightened as she drew her fingers back to her cheek, forming a crystalline pink Heilig Pfeil. Her arms steadied and a hard look came into her eyes. The arrow at her fingertips darkened, shifting from pink to a bloody crimson, black at its core. For an instant it brightened back to pink before darkening again.

The girl's voice was grim as she demanded, "Erzähl mir ... seinen Namen!" The arrow shook with her trembling arms.

[200/1365]

 

[Nekomata]

Tensed to shunpo, Ilsa slowly shook her head. “He never told me his name. He was neither very young nor very old, pale-skinned with dark hair and eyes, and spoke fluent Japanese with what I believe was a Russian accent. The fight took place in Tokyo, three years ago come winter. That is all I can tell you.” She raised a pale eyebrow. “Is that why you are here, to find out about someone you believe to have been killed by a shinigami? Most of us wouldn’t even be able to talk to you, you realize. It’s a random stroke of luck that I remember German from my living days.

“Now, are you going to fight or not?”

118/1398​

 

[swaswj]

Rina closed her eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. When she opened them again, she looked no less distraught. Her arm began quivering again, the point of her arrow wavering from Ilsa's head down to her chest, to her thigh, then back up. "Mein Name ist Rina..." she told Ilsa again, an odd hint of desperation to her voice. The arrow in her fingers brightened once more, the soft pink glow glinting off the wet trails down her eyes. "... Ekaterina Walter."

With no further explanation, she abruptly steadied her aim and then, as the arrow darkened to crimson again, Rina fired her first shot.

[105/1470]

 

[Nekomata]

About time! The shinigami easily flickered out of the way, having been watching Rina’s hands and arms with an intensity only made possible by Tenrai Chikaku. Ekaterina Walter, eh? I’ll have to look her up in the archives and see if we have anything on her. “Bakudou number thirty-six, Yusuru.” Ilsa made a low throwing motion with her free hand, as if rolling something along the ground toward her opponent. A barely visible ripple expanded across the sand and grass, looking a bit like heat waves- if heat waves traveled horizontally rather than vertically.

Ilsa leaped toward Rina just as the spell left her lips, spinning Hinometori around in dazzling flashes of desert-bright light. It was a flashy and difficult maneuver, but given the battlefield and the crystal glaive’s unique properties, it made the weapon almost painful to look at. Wait... wait... now! The spinning stopped just in time for the blunt end to come up in a hard blow toward Rina’s head.

163/1561​

Kidou

Yusuru - Bakudou #36, 450 Kidou

Description: The user sends a concentrated wave of energy out across the ground in a 3m radius. The wave itself is harmless, but it has a destabilizing effect. This wave of energy sends a nagging current through your opponent's legs, temporary encasing them in an electromagnetic field. Once activated, whenever the spiritons in a person's body starts to move at a rapid speed (say with shunpo) the spell will cause the spiritons to regroup by forcing them together. The user is then stopped in their tracks. This spell lasts for 2 rounds once activated, and can stay dormant on the victim for up to 5 rounds.

 

[swaswj]

Enduring the sting of the flashing light, Rina kept a straight face, reaching for the reiryoku pathways. The girl gathered her shuuhaku and attempted to launch off toward the edge of the water. As soon as the reiryoku gathered in her feet, however, the air rippled with a silent concussive force.

She didn't move.

Stunned, Rina threw herself to the side, feet sliding through the sand, taking the butt of the glaive to her shoulder with a solid thunk. It was better than her head, though! Green eyes narrowed, the teen didn't hesitate to yank back her bowstring again. Without a word, Rina shot not one arrow, but an entire barrage of crimson needles. On impact, the little arrows exploded forcefully, the combined detonation of the hundreds of shots throwing Ilsa back.

Rina started running, still feeling the heavy weight around her legs and the throbbing in her shoulder. She circled the valkyrie in a dead run, shooting two more blood-red arrows, heat waves shimmering in the air around her.

[170/1640]

Notes

Rina attempted Hirenkyaku and got trapped by Yusuru.

She's heavily invested in Namazan, though, so she managed to evade the brunt of your attack and followed with Scattershot, then two normal shots at ~1333.

[ Streuschuss ] - "Scattershot”
As specialists in ranged combat, Quincy have developed a wealth of techniques and strategies at range. One of the most important categories of said techniques involves keeping enemies at range. Streuschuss developed as a desperation move, but has been refined over the ensuing centuries. What once was just a blind-fire to try and hit anything has become a broad-hitting mid-range attack, aimed deliberately and with purpose. Dozens of arrows are launched at once in a spread formation, each charged with specially prepared reishi. Upon impact, the arrows will blast their targets backward, giving the Quincy extra time to escape to a more comfortable range.

This technique costs 500 reiatsu and spreads out to a 10m long, 5m wide cone. Targets are thrown back 10m from the point of impact.

Requirements: 2,500 Namazan

 

[Nekomata]

Ilsa grunted as the force of the red arrows threw her back, somehow landing on her feet despite the soft, uneven ground. What was that? Apparently Quincies had more than one type of arrow, an unsettling thought. The shinigami turned to face Rina again, watching her movements through both her own eyes and those of the construct above them. Hands were moving thus, weight was shifting so, which meant that it was time to go... now.

Apparently it was impossible to shunpo with any kind of stealth on this terrain. A cloud of sand jetted into the air as Ilsa moved, just in time to miss being shot with Quincy arrows. She reappeared within easy reach (for her) of the green-haired girl, already swinging Hinometori’s blade toward her left leg.

130/1691​

 

[swaswj]

The crystal blade found only sand, Rina's form shifting and vanishing like a mirage, only to be revealed a few feet to the side, her foot mere inches from the polearm's head. The teen's eyes were wide, but she didn't make a sound, instead retaliating with a desperate pulse of reiryoku. Sand burst into the air in a cloud as Rina was thrown backward, skidding to an awkward stop.

Quickly, she formed reiatsu underneath her feet, lifting the platform into the air as she took another bead on Ilsa through the drifting sands, firing a crimson bolt right for her thigh.

[101/1741]

Notes

I hinted at it in the previous turn ("heat waves shimmering in the air around her.") but Rina was using Elusiveness, slightly offsetting her actual position. Rina then used Retaliate to separate the two of you / stun Ilsa, and then lifted up into the air on a Law Breaker platform and fired another shot at you.

[ Ausweichen ] - "Elusiveness"
An easy to use but difficult to master technique, Ausweichen is a short-lived visual displacement. The Quincy uses ambient reishi in the air to bend light, causing them to appear 1m to the side of their actual position. This visual distortion helps improve the odds of evading attacks significantly, since even when anticipated, it's impossible to tell on sight which direction the displacement is occurring.

Any attack against the Quincy will break the illusion.

This ability costs 200 reiatsu to activate, and lasts for 3 seconds. This duration increases by 1 second per 2000 additional Namazan, capping at 10 seconds at 15,000 Namazan.

Requirements: 1,000 Namazan

[ Vergeltung ] - “Retaliate”
Lacking the durability of most other spiritual races, a Quincy must rely on their range, agility and spatial awareness to maintain an advantage in combat. Still, even the most prepared warrior can be caught off guard, and Quincy are at their most vulnerable when in close quarters. Vergeltung was created with these instances in mind.

Upon being attacked, a Quincy may pay 1,000 Reiatsu to rapidly displace the spirit particles surrounding them in a fashion similar to Hirenyaku, with explosive force, pushing the user away while dealing damage to any assailants in melee range. This technique can only be used once every three rounds, and can only affect one enemy attack per activation.

Requirements: 7,500 Namazan

[ Verbecher ] - "Law Breaker”
Quincy skilled with the art of manipulating reishi to improve their movement have developed a technique that allows them to create a platform of reishi and lift themselves into the air. This technique costs 500 reiatsu to use and rises 20m per round; it requires the Quincy to be standing on a solid surface.

The platform is 5m in diameter, allowing a small number of people to join the Quincy. Although it cannot be halted in place, the Quincy may continue rising as long as they continue paying 500 reiatsu per round.

Requirements: 2,500 Douryuu

 

[Nekomata]

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Ilsa dodged to her left, stumbling on a treacherous hummock of grass. The arrow scored a shallow, bloody gash on her outer thigh; first blood went to the Quincy. An illusion. And of course, Ilsa had decided to conserve reiatsu when she activated Tenrai Chikaku and not add the ability to see through illusions to the default sensory augmentation. After all, Quincies just shot arrows and flitted around on their little reiatsu platforms that substituted for shunpo, didn’t they?

Hinometori, have we angered the fates or something? Why is it that we always get fooled by illusions when theoretically we shouldn’t?

I have no idea, fledgling. The spirit sounded just as frustrated as she was. That was just plain insulting! Who knew that Quincies could fool the eye?

And now, adding insult to injury, this Quincy was taking to the air! That was Ilsa’s place, curse it! But activating her bankai so soon would just look weak. Scowling, the arcanist raised her free hand toward Rina, palm out. “Mitsu.” The pearly white orb of her favorite Signature spell formed above Ilsa’s head, emitting the distinctive whine of a charging cero. “Hadou number fifty-eight, Tenran.”

A violet whirlwind roared toward the flying Quincy just as the orb exploded into blinding light, saturating the desert for yards. Ilsa smiled, taking the opportunity to momentarily drop Tenrai Chikaku and reactivate it- all the way this time.

241/1932​

Kidou and kai

Star Shriek Blast is part of Ilsa's Signature and thus comes at half price.


Star Shriek Blast - Hadou #18, 95 Kidou

Description: This kidou generates heat and can be used to brighten even the darkest area within a 8m radius. Other than the fact that this spell is meant to attack the sight of all that gaze into its light, Star Shriek Blast, is a harmless, but useful kidou.

The user forms a pearl colored orb in the palm of their hand and holds it high above their head. After saying the incantation, the orb makes a noise similar to that of a charging cero and moments later, it will douse the area with a multitude of bright rays from every direction, except beneath the caster, granting up to 3 nearby allies immunity from the effects. This kidou expires after one round.

Once the user acquires 2000 kidou, the range and longevity of this spell will double.


Tenran (Orchid Sky) - Hadou #58, 1300 Kidou

Description: This Hadou forms an orchid-colored whirlwind that is shot straight at the opponent. The tornado is capable of disrupting people in flight, making it especially effective against airborne enemies.


Tenrai Chikaku (Divine Perception) – Tenrai Chikaku heightens or decreases Ilsa’s perceptions as she wishes. While this ability is active, Ilsa’s eyes become faceted crystalline orbs, similar to the crystal of which Hinometori’s released form is made. She can see in the dark as if it were daylight, shoot into battle with greater accuracy, and perceive incoming attacks much faster. By paying 5% reiatsu all illusions that cost less than this are pierced by this ability; Hinometori will not abide anything that is not the truth.

 

[swaswj]

Rina's immediate retaliation to the charging roar of Ilsa's spell was to fire two more shots, just before the blinding flashes of light seared her retinas. Instead of crying out, though, the teen girl nocked another arrow and fired again, blindly. Even with her eyes closed, though, the third shot in right behind the other two.

The swirling vortex hit her head on, the wild winds picking up her slight frame and throwing her crazily about, hair and clothes whipping wildly. Rina slammed roughly into the sand and rolled, eyes still scrunched tight. For an instant, the bow fell from her fingertips and disappeared. Rina snatched up the Quincy cross immediately, along with a handful of sand, and the bow blinked back into existence just as quickly as it had gone.

The teen spat out a mouthful of gritty sand and then, locked onto Ilsa's direction vaguely, she got her feet under her and kicked off, bursting forward in a blaze of speed, eyes still tightly shut.

Twin clouds of dust burst upward, one running to either side of the shinigami.

[181/1922]

Notes

Rina fired two arrows at Ilsa before she was blinded, and a third one immediately after. Each at 1333.

Yusuru should be worn off now.

[ Hirenkyaku Kuzen ]- “Soaring Screen Slide Perfection”
By moving at an extremely high rate of speed, a Quincy is able to create up to three illusions of themselves by jumping back and forth between places faster than the eye can see. Each illusion costs 1,000 reiatsu from either their reiatsu or their shuuhaku pools to create and costs the same again to maintain. This technique is dispelled the second a Quincy switches to attack.

Requirements: 7,500 Douryuu

 

[Nekomata]

The first shot went wide as Ilsa sidestepped and ducked low, letting the second and third ones pass overhead. Three Rinas ran toward her at high speed... but two of them were misty and transparent to her eyes. Hinometori radiated a feeling of satisfaction in the back of her mind as she noticed that. Aha, more illusions. A tiny smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth as Ilsa aimed for the Quincy in the middle and whispered five words in a voice easily lost amid the sounds of battle.

“Bakudou number sixty-three, Saju Sabaku.”

Glowing purple chains whipped toward the green-haired girl as Ilsa clenched her fist. As soon as the kidou was cast she was moving, once more whirling her glaive to hit Rina in the head with carefully calculated force. This wouldn’t be the first time she fought to incapacitate a human-type opponent, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.

153/2085​

More kidou

Oh my god, did Tenrai Chikaku actually work on an illusion? I think it did!

Saju Sabaku (Winding Binding Chains) - Bakudou #63, 1200 Kidou

Description: The caster faces its palm towards the opponent in a gripping-like gesture while a serpentine luminous chain, 5m long, materializes around the caster's hand and rushes towards the target, entangling itself around him. Immobile, the target is subdued by the seizing chain's weight and is forced towards the ground or nearest surface.

 

[swaswj]

From the sand, from the water, from the scrub plants: Rina pulled reishi from all of it to scour at the chains from the outside while she flooded them with reiryoku from within, setting every nerve in her body on fire. Letting out a sharp cry with the agony, Rina grit her teeth and with the sound of shattering crystal, the chains broke apart.

The teen immediately threw her head back, catching the butt of the glaive across the chin. Blood hit the sand and stars swam in her returning vision, but Rina stood her ground and fired another barrage of smaller arrows. She slipped away on a stream of hirenkyaku.

She fired two more crimson bolts and then fled even further away.

[123/2045]

Notes

There were only two Rinas (she made one illusion).

Using a desperate Fuubi. 900 rei to break since it's bypassed (50%) + Clearcasting (75%), and Q Fuubi is 1:1 but hurts like a mofo.

Then another Scattershot, two rear-ward Hirenkyaku and two more arrows.


[ Fuubi ]- "Overpower"
When a Quincy is restrained or bound and has been left with no other alternative, they can try to force their way out through sheer strength and raw reiatsu. Especially dangerous to the Quincy's body and soul, they must pay the same cost as what bound or restrained them, using Shuuhaku and Reiatsu as necessary. The more reiatsu used, the more painful it is for the Quincy.

Requirements: 1,000 Reiatsu


[ Hirenkyaku ] - "Soaring Screen Slide”
This basic skill allows Quincy to direct and ride currents of reishi to achieve high-speed movement. Though it may be learned at an early level, mastering the technique for near-instantaneous movement is another matter entirely. As one's skill in Douryuu grows, the Quincy's Hirenkyaku movements become faster and more fluid. As this relies partially on the flow of energy in an area, the distance a Quincy can move in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo is greater.

By paying 200 reiatsu, a Quincy can normally travel 20 meters. In Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, this distance is increased to 30 meters. Hirenkyaku may be used once per round, plus an additional use per round per 5,000 Douryuu.

Requirements: 1,000 Douryuu